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AN ORDINANCE providing for posting and notification of system metrics, including process disruptions, associated with the regional wastewater treatment system.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

1.  The regional water quality committee and the King County council are charged with the responsibility for oversight and policy review for the regional wastewater treatment system.

2.  The West Point Treatment Plant, which is the flagship of the region’s wastewater system, experienced a major system failure in the early morning of February 9, 2017, with the result that the plant was inundated by major internal flooding and that the emergency bypass discharge was activated, resulting in the release of high volumes of untreated, combined flows of wastewater and stormwater directly into Puget Sound.

3.  A number of factors, including electrical power disruptions, original technology, emergency response procedures, high wastewater/stormwater flow volumes and other elements have been discussed as potentially contributing to the system failure.

4.  The regional water quality committee and the council require a continuing and strengthened understanding of system operations indicators in order to assess operational patterns, evaluate system performance dynamics and stresses, become alert to approaching challenges and overview the system as a whole.

5.  The committee and the council have need for a means to relate system process volumes to facility capacity constraints.

6.  The county's solid waste division provides an example of a county utility monitored by the council that produces monthly system metrics as a system oversight tool accessible to the council.

7.  Among the wastewater metrics needed are:  total and peak flow volumes managed at key points in the system; sediment, water quality and effluent monitoring data; power disruption events and flow backup events; biosolids produced and distributed; energy utilized; wastewater rate and capacity charge revenue information; combined sewer overflows discharge information; any upsets or disruptions to system processes; permit violations or reports to state environmental or public health authorities; and similar metrics.

                     BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

                     SECTION 1.  A.  The executive shall prepare and post electronically, monthly metrics summary reports within thirty days following the end of a given month, addressing at least the following information:

                       1.  Total flow volumes and peak flow volumes managed at key points in the system, including treatment plants, and at strategic conveyance system locations;

                       2.  Tons of process solids managed at each of the treatment plants;

                       3.  Volumes of biosolids produced and distributed from each of the treatment plants;

                       4.  Sediment, water quality and effluent monitoring data;

                       5.  Power disruption events and flow backup events;

                       6.  Electrical energy utilized systemwide and at each of the treatment plants;

                       7.  Methane produced at each of the treatment plants;

                       8.  Upsets or disruptions to system processes;

                       9.  Wastewater rate and capacity charge revenue and expenditure information;

                       10.  Untreated and treated combined sewer overflow discharges, and storage information; and

                       11.  Permit violations or event reports to state environmental or public health authorities.

                       12.  Significant cost escalation for major capital projects that are beyond the project baseline planning level.

                     B.  The executive shall work with council staff to develop the summary report format and content such that it is most useful for the monitoring and oversight purpose, and can serve as a common system status communications tool for the regional water quality committee, the council and the executive.

                     C.  A prototype of the metrics summary report shall be transmitted to the council and the regional water quality committee by September 1, 2017.  The regular monthly posting of the metrics summary report shall begin by November 2017.

                     D.  In addition to including any upset or disruption to system processes in the monthly system metrics posting, the executive shall, by letter or email, notify the chair and members of the council and of the regional water quality committee, of any disruption or system upset event that results in a significant change in wastewater processing procedures lasting greater than an eighteen-hour period.  The notification shall be made within forty-eight hours of the start of the event.

                     E.  Any letters or reports to the council or councilmembers required by this section , not including the ongoing monthly summary reports to be posted electronically, shall be filed in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the

council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers.